A Letter to Petunia
by athena-arena
Summary: A little obvious! Dumbledore's letter to Harry's aunt when he's dumped on her doorstep. R/R please! I'm begging you! They're coming to take me away, ha ha! (Sirens of the ambulance taking me to St. Mungo's)...


A/N: I don't know where the hell that came from! I was supposed to be writing my Margaret Thatcher assignment when I picked up book one instead. Big mistake. Always distracting. I shouldn't put them on my desk really. Oh well. Anyway a little depressing, I don't know whether it's any good as I can never judge my own work…HINT HINT REVIEW PLEASE!!! The Hagrid thing will be along sometime, just as soon as I've thought up a storyline…. I've been side-tracked by the works of the bard and I have a little Stratford inspired gem awaiting in the wings. I love keeping you lot in suspense!

Dis: You know the drill. If I was JK I would be lurking in Picket Post Close in Bracknell right now. I don't own anything apart from the obvious. Enjoy! 

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A Letter to Petunia

My dear Petunia,

You do not know me. I would not expect you to. We have never met and I feel sadly confident in saying that I doubt we ever will. If you were ever to encounter me I would suspect your reaction would be less than tolerable. But alas, we live in difficult times. I now plead with you to be understanding, for unfortunately there is a lot to explain.

My name is Albus Dumbledore. I have reason to believe even my name would cause a raised eyebrow. But that is irrelevant. I am afraid to be the bearer of sad news. The truth in this case, is certainly a beautiful but terrible thing. Your sister, Lily, is dead. There is no other way to tell you. You have my deepest sympathy, along with many others in my world. Lily Potter was one of the greatest of her time… an excellent student, a wonderful wife, a loving mother. She died for the most honourable cause, perhaps the greatest of all, and will be always remembered -if not by you- by everyone she encountered, who saw the goodness that shone from her. She will be greatly missed.

There are a great many things I wish I could tell you, but for a number of reasons I must be brief. The differences between my world and that of the muggles remains a great gulf that sadly I feel I will never see healed. You have for the past twenty years slept soundly in your bed while my kind have been placing the floor, in worry, in torment, in fear. But all that has now been relinquished. Lily and her husband James, whom she loved more than anything in the world, died to protect their son from this great evil, and in their selfless sacrifice found means to defeat it. We will be forever in their debt. They awarded Harry a second chance in life, a life that I now bestow onto you.

I have the duty of entrusting Lily's son, Harry, into your care. Please look after him with as much love as he deserves. He is a hero whose name one day will be just as familiar as those of Merlin and Morgana. He survived this great evil that had destroyed many a great man before him, and for that his legacy will be set in stone. He will forever be the boy who lived. The boy who defeated the greatest evil our combined worlds have ever had to face. For that, he will always be remembered.

Harry is destined for great things. It has been seen for a long time. I am as sure as anything that he will one day join me and my colleagues at Hogwarts, following in his parents footsteps, and that day will certainly be a very happy occasion. However, to concentrate on the future, as to dwell on the past, is not the best course of action to ever take. For now, what Harry needs is warmth, comfort and love, something I hope that, deep down, you will be able to provide. You may have not got on in life, Petunia, but I hope that in death, you and Lily will be reconciled. Harry will be well protected here, I have ensured it. Despite it's appearances, magic can form the greatest protection of all. You have very little to worry about. 

I trust you, when you feel the time is right, to tell Harry the truth. Although I wish him to remain in the muggle world, I do not want in to be totally ignorant of his routes. If he was to remain with me I feel that his reputation would cause too much disruption. It would be heartbreaking. Harry needs to feel normal. His time will come.

These events are, in conclusion, both joyous and sad. We have been rid of the evil through the sacrifice of the good. Harry will forever be in his parent's debt. They in turn, will forever be with him. I ask you, Petunia, to respect your sister's wishes and care for her child: He is a precious gift that should not be squandered, but treasured like one of your own. He sees with his mother's eyes and I hope that, in time, you will learn to do so. You have been given the greatest task anyone can ever commit to. And I hope you will honour it. 

Good luck

Albus Dumbledore

Petunia stood there as read this, basking in the autumn light that flooded Privet Drive with more brilliance than she'd ever witnessed: As if the world had gained a new hope. She allowed a single tear to drop on the porch as she bent down to pick up the basket. The child was beautiful: sound asleep in the warmth of his blankets, his hands curled up into little fists as his chest rose and fell silently with the rhythm of his breathing. Her initial shock evaporating with her scream, she shook herself right and came back to her senses, abandoning any exposure of unnecessary emotion. She put the basket back down and proceeded to rip up the letter, in two, in four, in eight, and placed it on the pocket of her dressing gown. She picked up the milk bottles and yelled out again, hopelessly trying to rouse her husband from his slumber.

'Vernon? We've got a big problem down here…' 

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PS; Just so you know, I wrote this out in rough before I typed it up with my new quill, seriously! It has bloomin' hard work!!! 


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